Since it's a nostalgia thread.....

Not a Ranger, but never had snow traction issues.

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I have true snow tires and about 500 lbs of sand secured in the bed backed up to the cab. The truck weighs 8000 lbs without the sand. 500 lbs is about a 6 percent increase in weight centered over the chassis. I doubt it affects stopping distance in a negative manner at all. If it does, I probably should never drive with a full tank of fuel or carry passengers.}>

In my old 2006 I put five 80lb sacks of cement inside the tire of my spare. I drilled two 5" holes in the sidewall and poured in the cement. Hung it back under the truck and secured it to the frame with 3/8" chain. I did it mainly to soften the ride and the spare was no good to me since I have 38" tires on the truck. Really made a difference in the ride and it was 100% out of the way.
I thought about adding more weight by pouring more cement inside the wheel itself figuring I could have put at least another 300lbs there.
I later installed some Carli/Deaver springs and took out the concrete tire. But it worked well and took up no additional space.

studded snow tires and 1800lbs of loose sand wrapped in plastic sheeting to stay kinda dry. I don't get stuck plowing, it rides better and doesn't seem to affect my mileage at all.

There is a reason we keep our big plow trucks at least half full of salt during snow storms, i.e. you have to have the ballast to make it through drifts and interstate crossovers that aren't plowed yet. An empty plow truck bed gets you stuck quickly, a rookie mistake in the state highway department. I have to remind new plow drivers constantly to keep topped off.

I use the same philosophy with my F350 LB. It has General Grabber AT2's and they do a pretty good job in a couple inches of snow BUT I need weight in the bed if I get into any depth and have to stop. I prefer not to use the FWD unless absolutely necessary. The truck bed cap I have weighs around 350 lbs. and it goes on for the winter. A few bags of sand in the back end along with a flat shovel, tow strap and tow chain are mandatory. A load of firewood works for when I don't have the top on.

If I had the money I would have a second set of rims with studded snow tires. I do this with our two Miatas. Snow tires are a different rubber formulation for better grip and studs are the bomb on icy streets.

Always keep a full tank of fuel and carry a bottle of anti-gel. Last night it dropped to minus 30 and I gelled on the way home from night shift. I had the truck plugged-in at work, warmed it up idling, but the tank was so cold it gelled the motor underway. After restarting it would run okay for a minute or two before I had to stop again, so I dumped in a bunch of Howe's treatment, mixed it up by moving back and forth, waited a few minutes at idle and now she's running okay.

Service stations are not running enough no. 1 fuel oil in their blends for temps this low so my ratio was not strong enough (8 oz. of Ford anti gel). The truckers at the local truck stop were going through Howe's and Power Shot (?) like water. Brake cans were freezing. Our pumps at the local highway shed were frozen. We order our fuel custom blended to prevent the plow trucks from gelling and now we are stuck filling up at the truck stop anyway! Nature always finds the weak link!

I have for years.


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It helps me with this!

Eeeeeeeweeee! That looks scary dangerous! Not just the concrete projectiles, but the gray weathered wood holding it back from cracking you in the head after a head on collision or sudden stop while plowing.
Praying you remain safe.:-X22

Interesting but you did say the fuel they are using isn't #1 type. I know it has been well below 30 degrees here in NW Washington and I have had zero problems with my gelling. I keep mine plugged in at night while truck is home but during the day or when I spend overnights on the Navy ship my truck does not get plugged in. No starting issues here! Little harder start in the cold not plugged in but overall I'm glad no gelling. I suppose it is a sign to grab a bottle to keep on hand just incase.

For the past 50+ years, I've driven everything with wheels on snow and ice. My '04 F250 2WD, no limited slip, is among the most helpless vehicles ever made. It's a combination of the peg leg rear axle, drive-by-wire throttle, electronic auto shift, diesel torque and all that weight over the front axle. Caught without snow tires, I have gotten stuck on a flat parking lot.

Even with studded snow tires, it still could use 1000# under the tailgate to help it get going. However, as someone mentioned, any added weight makes stopping in low traction situations that much longer and more unpredictable.

Bottom line, it's the wrong vehicle for this far frozen north. With years of experience, picking my spots and the aforementioned studded snows, I've managed to get around when necessary. Would I buy it again? Sometimes it's a bargain for a reason.

jack vines

Well, I just got back from a 160+ mile drive where we spent 70% of it driving on sloppy fresh snow and ice. No added weight to my 4x4 CCSB with Toyo Opencountry ATs and didn't have any problems. Back to knowing how to drive in the stuff and being ready to take my time getting there and back. Did I wish that I had extra weight and studded mud and snows? Yes. But the 6.0 did just fine, unlike the 40k lb Volvo and box trailer that was headed Eastbound and was in the Westbound ditch on the inside of the steep curve.

What He said^^^^^^, I will add that, studs( which the op already stated he had) will help on ice but.....winter driving is what it is ..drive accordingly and you will go a lot farther without problems than if you try to make your vehicle act like it's on summer roads in the winter.